The song of the day for Friday, July 7, 2017 is “Cold, Cold Heart.”
About This Song
“Cold, Cold Heart” was written by Hank Williams in 1951.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “Cold, Cole Heart” on May 31, 1951. Percy Faith did the arrangement and Mitch Miller was, of course, the producer.
Bennett tells this story in his autobiography The Good Life:
When Mitch first played me Hank Williams’s “Cold, Cold Heart,” I have to admit I didn’t think I should sing it. In those days country artists still used the old-time fiddle, and I told Mitch that I couldn’t do it. He told me just to listen to the words and music, pointing out how beautiful the ending was: “Why can’t I free your doubtful mind/ And melt your cold, cold heart?” He convinced me, and I recorded it. The song started out slowly at first, but it caught on, and it kept climbing the charts until it was number one.
The success of the song resulted in Bennett being a guest star at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. I found this wonderful photo:
Even though the quality of the photo is very poor, how can anyone resist these four artists singing “I Saw the Light.”
“Cold, Cold Heart,” as well as all of the singles collected on The Columbia Singles, Vol. 1, is available from iTunes.
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